Engadget: Sony Ericsson making PlayStation-branded Android 3.0 'gaming phone'
Our sister blog Engadget has been told by "a trusted source" that Sony Ericsson will introduce a cross between the PSP Go and an Android phone later this year. The handset (which is mocked up above -- not the actual product) is supposed to be a "landscape slider," but instead of a QWERTY keyboard like a mobile phone or regular game controls like the PSP, it will have PlayStation buttons, a d-pad and a "long touch pad" to mimic dual analog input.
Sony Ericsson's device will run Android 3.0, and games will be made available through a special section of the Android Market, with versions of God of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and LittleBigPlanet reportedly used as examples of what sort of lineup we could expect. Additionally, games that meet certain requirements might be made available to other Android handset users and, eventually, titles might embrace other smartphone features such as augmented reality.
The phone is reportedly set to be introduced sometime this October. With the actual PSP already experimenting with phone-like functions like Skype, it's not a stretch to see Sony try and bring some of its gaming know-how to the mobile phone space in a PSP-like package.
